Who the hell is Ched Evans? He was a footballer (soccer player) for the English club Sheffield F.C. I say was, because he’s just got out of prison having been convicted of rape for two and a half years. Basically the courts found that he had sex with a woman who was so catastrophically drunk she couldn’t have given consent, Evans maintains his innocence and says it was consensual.
Anyway, the issue causing a stink - should the club re-sign him? One of the club’s patrons, a TV presenter, has resigned from the position in protest at him being allowed to train there. On the one hand, petition signers say it gives off rather a bad image for the club to have a convicted rapist on the team. On the other, he’s served his time.
If you had the final say on whether to re-sign him for the team, would you? Since he’s been signed before, we can presume he meets the standards of skills for the club (wiki has his stats) and the main problem is his conviction.
Welll, Philosophically speaking, I would say yes, he served his time.
Practically speaking, I would have to figure out if signing him would be a net gain for the team. If there are enough fans willing to forgive him, then sign him on. But on the flip side of that, if signing him on is just going to alienate most of the team’s fan base, then no dice.
I don’t know anything about this guy so I couldn’t tell you if I personally would want the team to sign him on.
Here’s what charity Rape Crisis England and Wales has to say about it “Ms Russell said the charity was not against convicted rapists re-entering society, but the “unusual situation” of Evans’ high profile, the fact that he would be returning to a job he did when he committed the offence, and that he would be “celebrated as a role model” by young boys and girls made it an exception.”
Personally I think dimbo-dumbos thinking that because you are skilled at a sport means you are a beacon of moral conduct is the bigger problem there, but I’m not in charge of society. Yet.
No-one owes him a living. Certainly he has served his time but I have no problem with him being practically, if not officially, thrown out of football. I certainly wouldn’t play alongside him.
Other people get “struck-off” for various professions in one way or another after convictions, no problem with it happening in this case.
If a key employee of any company were convicted and jailed for rape I’d be very surprised if they were able to resume their career at the same level with that company or even within that industry.
I voted Yes in the poll, partly on the basis that he has served his time and if he’s going to be prevented from continuing his profession, he may as well have been jailed for life. But also important is the fact that his conviction was hardly cut and dried and may yet be overturned, whereas Marlon King (referenced above) seems to have a string of convictions as long as his arm for various offences that there seems to be little arugment about. I’d be more upset about King playing for my team than Evans, on that basis.
I also think that even if we accept the dubious argument that the off-field activities of footballers are relevant in how they are viewed as role-models, surely one can still be a role-model by moving on with their life? I suppose the problem here is his lack of contrition, but given he is maintaining his innocence then he can hardly be contrite, can he? I know I wouldn’t be in the same situation.
That makes no sense at all. Lots of people lose their jobs due to criminal activities. They may not be able to continue their professions either and they have to do something else. Not sure why Evans’s
should be surprised if the same applies to him.
A professional footballer is an entertainer. Would we be surprised if Rolf Harris is shunned by all entertainment networks when he is released from Jail. I hear Gary Glitter has had trouble getting back into the entertainment business as well.
What do we want our convicted felons to do upon completion of their sentences? We want them to go back to work and be productive members of society. Though it seems that if “going back to work” is pleasant and lucrative, we’d really rather the ramifications of their crime follow them long past prison.
What if Mr. Evans had committed the same crime but had instead been a talented computer programmer. Would we have been urging Google not to hire him?
Would you criticise Google if they decided to fire him? If he were a very public face of Google prior to the conviction would you think it a good move for them to take him back?
Do you think a criminal conviction should be taken into consideration at all by an employee?
A criminal record does mean that the convicted end up paying for their crime long after their release because their employment chances become more limited.
The latest news on this is that some of the main sponsors for this club have threatened to review their sponsorship deal should he be re-signed. That is the nature of the entertainment/sports industry, you can become a liability very easily.
The club has released a statement on the question of guilt, stating “The Club does not question Mr Evans’ conviction for rape. The Club is advised that: The punishment imposed on Mr Evans in connection with his conviction was consistent with applicable law.”
From their statement on Evans being recommended for training at the club by the Professional Footballers’ Association, the view of the former being. “The PFA, declaring that professional footballers should be treated as equals before the law, including in circumstances where they seek to be rehabilitated and to return to work in their chosen trade following periods of incarceration”
This might end up being the reason he doesn’t get re-signed; not a moral stance but a business one since a sponsor has said“DBL Logistics would end its back-of-shirt sponsorship with Sheffield United if the club employed a convicted rapist.”
That said I don’t know how easily sponsor deals are negotiated, maybe they can easily find other sponsors that don’t object to his signing.
I voted yes with caveats - those not being things like salary.
It’s a potential yes - as Clough (the Blades current manager) said in a BBC5 Live interview last night that his being allowed to join training should not be taken as any indication they would sign him as nobody could tell what condition he was in, or indeed if his footballing skills had deteriorated or not.
It’s a difficult one when somebody maintains their innocence in the face of conviction. It’s one of the reasons I am very much again the US system of plea bargains, whereby you face serving decades in jail if convicted such that many will enter a guilty plea not on the basis of their guilt but their chances of conviction.
I don’t know the details of the case, but maybe Evans feels he is not guilty on the basis that he genuinely believed the victim was consensual. Obviously the law’s viewpoint differs, and anyway footballers are not known for their intellect.
I also agree that us normal Joe’s would face employment difficulties if we got a criminal conviction and there is no good reason it should not be the same for sports persons.
I guess at the end of the day my instinct is to give the guy the chance to follow his trade - he is probably ill suited to doing anything else. Certainly the degree of his public prominence should be not be an absolute barrier to his employment. But as Sheffield Utd are finding out, other commercial factors come into play with public prominence such that it tend to be a curse rather than a benefit to Ched’s prospects of playing professional sport again.
I’ve purposefully avoided any comment on how secure the conviction is as I think we have to trust the original decision in order to have an opinion on what his employment status should be.
Naturally if he has his conviction overturned I’d have a different view.
Novelty Bobble, I must disagree. While he is no role model and an all round fuckface, the fact is that if he had been Ched Evans, builder from Cardiff, rather than Ched Evans, Premier League footballer, he would never have been tried, let alone convicted.
He is one of the poster child for why Sexual Offence Act 2003 (and most post 1994 criminal legislation) was so badly thought out. Under the earlier law, his actions would not have been rape.
Wish **UDS **was still here. He is a draftsmanIIRC
I doubt very much he will be employed at the same level he was previously. His wages will be nowhere near as good as before, and his contract will be short term. Considering his career was on a steep upward trajectory at the time of his conviction this can be viewed as a backward step in terms of his career. He’s also lost about one quarter of his career playing time; a time when his earnings would be at their maximum potential. Whether he should be employed is another matter, personally im for him being given a second chance. However, his career has been drastically hurt by his conviction. It would be wrong to suggest otherwise.